The Recent Rise of Eutylone Intoxications in Onondaga County and Surrounding Counties

Eutylone is an emerging synthetic stimulant that is quickly gaining popularity due to its affordability and wide availability. A recent surge has been observed in Upstate New York. This study presents a retrospective review of deaths in which eutylone was identified in postmortem samples from January 2018 to December 2021 in the electronic database of the Onondaga County medical examiner's office in Syracuse, NY. Of the 176 subjects who met the study criteria, 128 (73%) were male and 48 (27%) were female, with a mean age of 37.6 years. Most of the subjects were listed as White (89%), followed by African American (9%). Most of the cases had multiple medical comorbidities (89%), with anxiety and hypertension being the most common illnesses. Chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to perform a qualitative analysis of femoral blood and urine samples to detect multiple drugs, including eutylone. Substance abuse disorder was present in 135 (77%) cases, with opiates and cocaine being the most common additional drugs detected. The most common cause and manner of death were drug toxicity and accident, in 137 (78%) and 143 (81%) cases, respectively. Overall, the study suggests that eutylone is a growing concern in Upstate New York, and its use is increasing in prevalence. Policymakers and health care providers should take steps to address this emerging issue and prevent further harm to individuals and communities affected by drug overdose.